Brouwer's injury not bad, but he'll miss some games

There was good news and bad news about Troy Brouwer on Monday.

The good news is the right knee injury Brouwer suffered in Sunday's 4-0 loss to Vancouver in a collision with Darcy Hordichuk is not serious, according to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville.

The bad news is the Hawks won't have Brouwer tonight against the Canadiens in Montreal or Wednesday when St. Louis comes to the United Center.

"We'll get a better assessment later in the week, but it's not serious," Quenneville said. "By not serious, it's not long term. It's short term, at least the next two games."

You've got to figure that Brouwer is also questionable at best for Friday's game against Nashville.

Quenneville likely will either move Patrick Kane back to the top line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp in Brouwer's spot, or move Ben Eager up to skate there. Kane took several shifts with Toews and Sharp after Brouwer left Sunday's game.

Colin Fraser will go back into the lineup on the fourth line after sitting out on Sunday for the first time all season.

Play it again: Joel Quenneville said he watched the tape of the loss to the Canucks and didn't see much he liked.

"We didn't have any pace to our game, and getting behind early certainly didn't help," he said. "They're one of the better checking teams with a top goalie and they defended well, and we didn't fight through it enough.

"We had an opportunity 5-on-3 (in the first period) that was a huge opportunity to put ourselves in a good spot. It's one of those games you've got to forget about, knowing we weren't even close to being good enough."

The Hawks now must face two of the more desperate teams in the NHL in Montreal tonight and St. Louis on Wednesday. Both of them are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spots in their respective conferences.

"I still believe in our team and we definitely need to respond with a good effort (tonight)," Duncan Keith said.

"This time of year the next game is always the biggest one of the season," Brian Campbell said. "You've got to look forward pretty quickly."

Tip-ins: Joel Quenneville said Cristobal Huet would start against the Canadiens, his former teammates- He left Wednesday's starter to be determined- Defenseman Matt Walker returned to practice Monday but won't play tonight. Walker has missed the last four games with an upper body injury.